Your opponent is a dynamic war veteran just back from Iraq. He is more articulate than you and more charismatic. Since he has a focused set of positions it’s hard to critique them.

You’re running in a solid Republican district. You can expect a big money edge over Hackett. You’ve avoided stepping all over your competition so it will be easy for you to rally the faithful.

Six weeks to go…. what do you do?

Wait out the clock.

Very few people care. Even fewer know who Hackett is. All you have to do is wait and try not to trip.

No need for risks. No need to acknowledge your opponent. Avoid as many confrontations as possible… control the message… slow down the game. The Beltway Democrats don’t want to waste any resources. The 2nd is a lost cause. Force Hackett to foul you. Eventually he will have to just to get the media to even acknowledge his existence, and when he does you’ll be ready. Make him earn every step and make the price for each one very expensive.

Even if things start to disintegrate you can always fall back on your bag of tricks. After all, they’ve worked so well for your team in the past. The questioning phone calls. The flyers with urgent appeals to people’s baser instincts.

It’s a solid game plan. One you could do in your sleep.